WELCOMING THE NEW TEXTS OF THE MASS

The Creed – Part Two

Let’s consider the second half of the Nicene Creed, the Profession of Faith.

Current Text New text

For our sake he was crucified under For our sake he was crucified under

Pontius Pilate; he suffered, died, and Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was

was buried. On the third day he rose buried, and rose again on the third day in

again in fulfillment of the Scriptures; accordance with the Scriptures.

he ascended into heaven and is seated at he ascended into heaven and is seated at

the right hand of the Father. He will come the right hand of the Father. He will come

again in glory to judge the living and again in glory to judge the living and

the dead, and his kingdom will have no end. the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the

the giver of life, who proceeds from the giver of life, Who proceeds from the Father

Father and the Son. With the Father and and the Son; who with the Father and the

Son he is worshipped and glorified. Son is adored and glorified, who has spoken

He has spoken through the Prophets. through the prophets.

We believe in one holy catholic and I believe in one, holy, catholic and

apostolic Church. We acknowledge apostolic Church. I confess one baptism

one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. for the forgiveness of sins and I look forward

We look for the resurrection of the dead to the resurrection of the dead

and the life of the world to come. Amen. and the life of the world to come. Amen.

These changes are primarily translation issues. The Latin “passus” speaks of the whole “passion” of the Lord – suffering and death—but the Latin does not specifically use the verb “died.” However, the Latin text does not say that this was in fulfillment of the Scriptures; it is best translated “according to” or “in accordance with.” Jesus’ resurrection both fulfills the Old Testament scriptures (see Luke 24: 26-27) and is the heart of what the New Testament scriptures proclaim—the resurrection is in accordance with both Old and New Testaments.

As the Creed continues, notice that we continue to say “I believe” rather than “We believe.” We share the faith that each of us professes. If individual persons do not believe, there is no “we believe.”

“Adored” replaces “worshipped” as both a more accurate translation of the Latin and also best expresses that unique level of worship which is due solely to Father, Son and Spirit.

The last section of the text has two changes. The new text says “I confess one baptism…” rather than “We acknowledge one baptism….” To “acknowledge” something isn’t very forceful language; it’s a bit like saying “Yeah, that too.” The term “confess” implies a stronger and more personal ownership of what is being stated. What we are “confessing”—that we all share one common baptism, and that baptism takes away our sins—is a substantial element of our faith.

The last change from “We look for” to the new wording of “and I look forward to” is again both a more accurate translation from the Latin text and a better expression of our faith. When we “look forward to” something, this implies an eagerness. We look forward to good things…things we want to have happen…things we are confident will take place. This is indeed how we view our own sharing in Jesus’ resurrection and life in God’s presence in the fulfillment of the Kingdom of God.

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After reviewing the changes in the Creed, the Profession of Faith, it might be helpful to review the three general principles that were discussed in the second article of this series. (Remember that the entire series can be reviewed on the parish website:

www.stjoesylvania.org ) These principles underlie the specific changes in the new texts:

1) Provide a more faithful rendering of what the Latin text intends to say;

2) Make more clear the connections between the prayer texts and passages of Sacred Scripture; and

3) Give the words and prayers of the Mass a high level of dignity.

The changes in the Creed flow most frequently from that first principle of doing the best possible translation of the normative Latin text. But the new text also expresses what we believe more precisely—for example, we indeed do “look forward to” the resurrection. We believe that Jesus took on our human nature when He was conceived in Mary’s womb—not when he was born.

The next changes occur at the Preface, that dialog between priest and people after the gifts are prepared at the altar. We’ll discuss those changes in our next segment.

(This is the sixth in a series of ten articles prepared by Fr. Ritter and Joanne Denyer. You may wish to save them all.)

All ten articles will be on our parish website: www.stjoesylvania.org